I’ve mentioned it in a few other articles, it’s been near the forefront of my mind for a couple of years, and it’s been a topic of conversation (sometimes debate or denial) since I graduated.  It’s still the plan – I still intend to design & build a house, that looks like a house, on a trailer that can be towed without a CDL license & wide load escort.  I will rent or borrow land in different areas of the country as I find myself there, and I will own my house, and my tools and cherished things will be always within my reach.  It’s not going to get done next week, or next month…although, I’m carrying hopes that it’ll be well underway by this time next year.  There’s another article, “In a word”, that addresses why I won’t be taking any of the conventional routes (which were once unconventional, I might add) others have suggested.  Feel free to offer suggestions, but skip the ones that revolve around “what if you marry and your husband doesn’t like it?”.  There will be another article on the tyranny of ‘what if’, I just haven’t typed it yet. This article is a growing list of what I intend. 

General

• Open floor plan, areas clearly defined by their contents.  Of course the bathroom will be enclosed, and a couple of pivoting bookshelves can create a private guest room with a Murphy bed. A freestanding decorative screen will create a private dressing area without permanently consuming floor space.

• PVC pipe affixed to the underside of the trailer will hold electric feed lines, with ‘T’s at designated locations to bring electric up through the floor of the house. Daisy-chained batteries and an inverter unit will provide energy when house is not plugged in to an electric feed.  Solar energy will be an option as finances permit.

• Tunnel Lights, a variation on sunroofs, will provide general ceiling lighting. There will be windows, and specific work lighting for kitchen, crafts, and reading as needed.

• Electric fireplace for heating, seated centrally along a long wall. A unit that serves a room of 200 sq ft should be enough, I have over 23 blankets & throws at last count.

• Hardwood floors throughout, with rugs as appropriate.  As far as I know, I have enough wood flooring in storage, left over from the house I once owned.

• Large screen monitor mounted on the wall, likely above the fireplace, for digital artwork, photos, movies, and computing.  This is where my Terry Redlin gallery will show up. A few well-placed speakers will ensure music throughout.

Kitchen

• Toaster Oven & Microwave fixed in a vertical stack with sliding shelves for occasional appliances like the crock pot and mixer.  Cabinet will have micro fans along the side for venting as well as a series of outlets up the back, in alignment with the shelves, where appliances will be always plugged in & at the ready. Door or closure will be fabric or hinged plexiglass that will recess into the cabinet when appliances are being accessed.  Sliding shelves will have a locking mechanism for travel.

• Sink faucet & sprayer on a vertical bar shared with the shower on an adjoining wall.  Sounds funky, but it’s practical.  I’ll either be working in the kitchen or washing myself in the shower, never both simultaneously.  If the nozzle is on the right side of the wall, it serves the kitchen, and on the left, it serves the shower.  (or, left/right) The passageway will be sealed on both sides, so jumping germs won’t be an issue.  Plumbing is thus confined to one area.

Master Bedroom

• Full Mattress & Box in a loft at one end, accessed by a drop-down stair.

• Rope lighting in the ceiling and a direct lamp for reading.

• Nooks & ledges where the roof meets the floor for cell/tablet charging, bedside needs like tissues & cough drops, and the book(s) of the current reading phase.

• Clothes, lingerie, jewelry, etc will be in a closet/dressing area on the main floor.

Craft/Guest Room

• 98% of the time, this area will be used for whatever project I have underway.  It will be open to the rest of the house and at the opposite end from the kitchen.

• A modified Murphy bed (Full size mattress) will house a folding table in its frame.  When the bed is closed into the wall, the surrounding frame will hold the mattress in place, while the central portion of wood, on a separate hinge, can be dropped down as a waist-high work table.  Support legs for the table will be hinged and stored within the table framework, at the top.  When neither is in use, the whole mechanism folds into an exterior wall, likely covered with a lightweight tapestry or creatively mounted nature mural.

• My sewing desk will be in this area, near but not in the way of the Murphy.   My sewing machine, when not in use, fits below my sewing desk and the accompanying chair.